The supersonic and long-range anti-ship Yakhont missiles of the Syrian army and the Lebanese Hezbollah (resistance movement) are serious deterrents to a US naval attack by its warships in the Mediterranean Sea, Dr. Mostafa Zahra, a military analyst and strategic studies expert, told FNA on Monday.

He said that Syrias Iskandar high-precision ballistic missiles and its anti-ship Scud missiles will also target the US warships in case of a US naval invasion of Syria, reminding that the American military vessels are not equipped with any weapons system to intercept or divert the Syrian anti-ship missiles.

The P-800 Oniks, also known in export markets as Yakhont (in English means ruby or sapphire), is a Russian/Soviet supersonic anti-ship cruise missile developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya as a ramjet version of P-80 Zubr. The missile has a range of 300 kilometers.

Development of Yakhont missiles officially started in 1983, and by 2001 allowed the launch of the missile from land, sea, air and submarines. The missile has the NATO reporting codename SS-N-26. It is reportedly a replacement for the P-270 Moskit, but possibly also for the P-700 Granit.

Earlier on Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the United States against the extremely dangerous consequences of military action against Syria.

Lavrov made the remarks during a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday.

"Sergei Lavrov drew attention to the extremely dangerous consequences of a possible new military intervention for the whole Middle East and North Africa region," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It added that Moscow was "deeply alarmed" by Washingtons statement about its readiness to intervene in Syria.

Foreign Minister Lavrov urged restraint during the conversation with John Kerry, the statement said.

Fars is the mouthpiece of the Iranian mullahs. Some of this is actually comical like, “...the American military vessels are not equipped with any weapons system to intercept or divert the Syrian anti-ship missiles.”

If Obama attacks, Syria said it will attack Israel. Doubtful that Iron Dome can stop state of the art missiles fired from Syrian bunkers. If they are armed with gas, WW III will begin. That is the catastrophe the Russians are fearing. US Navy ships should be able to protect themselves. Obama had better think long and hard before he starts something he can’t stop.

The only smart answer in Syria is to stand back, point at Islamics killing each other and say, ‘See? This is what the religion of peace breeds; chemical warfare against civilians for points.’

Of course, the reason why the ‘rebels’ gassed their own people is that the chemical weapons were free, and the US would spend billions in missiles to launch at Syria’s present government, their ‘enemy.’ Even better than strapping a bomb onto a teenager.

10
posted on 08/27/2013 4:02:52 PM PDT
by kingu
(Everything starts with slashing the size and scope of the federal government.)

300 km range on the ASMs... vs double or triple that (easily with mid-air refueling) combat radius of F/A-18s. Hmm, I like the US Navy’s chances - if odumber lets them off the chain. Personally, I’d rather just stay out of it.

“Imagine if one of those Russian missiles was fired from Assad territory and hit a Russian ship. Attn: CIA.”

A Russian friend told me, “Can be no secrets in America. Somebody has a secret, they tell it. They get book deal. They go on TV and become ‘hero.’”

I think he’s right. The danger in trying to do something secret is nobody in positions to have such secrets can be trusted. Keeping secrets requires either fear, as in Soviet Russia, or a Christian and patriotic attitude. Somewhere in the line of secret keepers there will be a Godless liberal. Do you really want Putin to know we sank one of his ships? I don’t. It’s best if we keep well clear of the debacle.

God, I hope you are right....someone sinks a US carrier or actually any ship, the people will demand blood. I have no idea of our military capabilities so I fret over stupid at 1600 pa ave.... I imagine he be doing something to endanger Israel. They don’t play games. They have been giving out gas masks for weeks now. Dangerous times we live in...

Agree 100%. Support for intervention is something like 10%. 0bama will not have support for embarking on a fool's errand. Today they said the objective is not regime change, so other than making the bully 0bama look like a tough guy, WTF is the objective?

“When US sailors and soldiers and airmen die, Obama wins.”... He may win the day but he may meet his maker sooner than anticipated. There are a lot of people in this country that are completely fed up with him and would prefer to see that happen (which I hope it does not). There are a lot of “crazies” out there.

The Russians are also in Syria sitting in their port... They have the SS-N-22 Sunburn, it has been called the most lethal missile in the world today.

Iran also has these, perhaps Syria as well.
Never underestimate the other side.

The Sunburn can deliver a 200-kiloton nuclear payload or a 750-pound conventional warhead, within a range of 100 miles, more than twice the range of the Exocet. The Sunburn combines a Mach 2.1 speed (two times the speed of sound) with a flight pattern that hugs the deck and includes violent end maneuvers to elude enemy defenses. The missile was specifically designed to defeat the US Aegis radar defense system. Should a US Navy Phalanx point defense somehow manage to detect an incoming Sunburn missile, the system has only seconds to calculate a fire solution not enough time to take out the intruding missile. The US Phalanx defense employs a six-barreled gun that fires 3,000 depleted-uranium rounds a minute, but the gun must have precise coordinates to destroy an intruder just in time.

The Sunburns combined supersonic speed and payload size produce tremendous kinetic energy on impact, with devastating consequences for ship and crew. A single one of these missiles can sink a large warship, yet costs considerably less than a fighter jet. Although the Navy has been phasing out the older Phalanx defense system, its replacement, known as the Rolling Action Missile (RAM) has never been tested against the weapon it seems destined to one day face in combat.

30
posted on 08/27/2013 4:26:45 PM PDT
by Bobalu
(It is not obama we are fighting, it is the media.)

The Syrian missiles, which are located in the Syria port city of Latakia, were easily targeted by Israel. The Yakhont has a operational range of 186 max nmi. The Arleigh-burke Class Destroyers in the Med, carry missles with a range of 700nmi. to 1350 nmi., depending on what they want to launch. The USS Gravley and her sisters can stand well away from Assad’s reach and deliver a punishing blow. The Iranians are publishing propaganda.

35
posted on 08/27/2013 4:36:10 PM PDT
by swamprebel
(a Constitution once changed from Freedom, can never be restored.)

We have no carriers in theater so my guess is we will use B-1 bombers from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and B-2 from the states along with ships outside 500 miles. We will need to get tankers and support aircraft in place but that should b done tonight I suspect. If we do anything else it is purposeful to have losses in my view.

49
posted on 08/27/2013 5:56:49 PM PDT
by crosslink
(Moderates should play in the middle of a busy street)

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